Time and Time Again
by Dreamer's Dark Requiem
Summary: The world around us is ever changing, no matter if you want it to stay the same. This is the story of one of those changes...where a young woman learns of a truth that destroys her perception of the world. OC-Insert, Shelloyd
1. Prologue

_Symphonic Hearts_

Time and Time Again

Rated: T for violence, blood, swearing, and Zelos

Pairings; Sheloyd, Zellete, Genis/Presea

Disclaimer; Not mi~ine, too bad so sad

Warning; Timeline gets a punch in the face…IE; I'm switching up events a bit, so bear with me.

AN; Ooooh, rewrite(And a new title)! I hope you like it :P Also, I'm gonna be putting up stuff here in the first chapter that'll be some what important to future stories for my _Symphonic Hearts _series. Such as the bit about Ki Aurion...Ah, ignore me, just get to reading!

Prologue

_Myths, Legends, and History_

* * *

...Lloyd.  
_Hmm? What is it? _  
...Don't die.  
_Wha? Yeah, okay. What's up all of a sudden? _  
...Don't worry about it.  
_How can he tell me not to worry after saying something like that?_

~Kratos Aurion and _Lloyd Irving_, Tales of Symphonia

* * *

About Fifteen thousand years ago today, a young woman of elf and human descent stepped off of her home world and into the stars. No, she was not an astronaut, nor was she a traveler of time space. Rather, she was the first of the legendary Keyblade Wielders. She molded the keyblade from raw power, founded an order of those who could use it, and became a hero across thousands, millions, of worlds.

Her name was Ki Aurion.

She lead the keyblade wielders as they struggled to begin and struggled to stabilize. Ki Aurion supported the idea of light and darkness not being enemies, but rather simply flip sides of the same coin. As such, she taught her students to believe the same. She easily noted that her students each had a natural ability for either of the two.. or an in-between area that would be later called Twilight.

For many years she taught her students and lead the order until she fell in love and had a child. Ki felt that her child's birth was a sign that it was time for her to chose a successor. She did, but chose three. Each of the leaders would lead the Light, Darkness, and Twilight wielders respectively. So, she returned home to Aselia, heralded as a hero...

Though, unlike many of the heroes of Aselia, Ki Aurion was one of those who became but a fragment of history that turned to legend, and then myth before being forgotten all together. The young half-elven woman, however, will always be remembered in the heart of hearts.

After all, Kingdom Hearts was the one who tasked her with the creation of the keyblade...

* * *

Ratatosk grumbled under his breath at the group of young Southern Fenrir. This was due to the fact that they were still cleverly evading him. It was rather annoying, especially when he was planning to simply take them back to the correct time and let them live in the shifted dimension on Aselia...Or Earth, as it was commonly known as in his proper time.

His main reasoning for this was because the species would disappear otherwise and he was feeling a bit too lazy to recreate them. It took far more energy to recreate a species then to simply travel through time and get them. Of course, It also helped that one of his partners was the Spirit of Time Space...

A growl.

He froze.

Ahead of him was a group of the red and white Southern Fenrir. Some were obviously exhausted, while others were struggling to just keep up on their paws. Only a tiny handful were still strong enough to fight, if it came to it. Thankfully, it'd never get that far. The blond raised his hands in surrender.

_"I'm not here to harm you,"_ He said slowly, having not spoken the Fenrir South language in a long while. The Fenrir that seemed to lead this pack perked up slightly, _"Our Monster Lord, Ratatosk?" _Ratatosk was slightly shocked: As far as he knew, all of the monsters at this time knew nothing about him. They didn't start remembering until after the worlds were recombined to one again.

The alpha leaned forward, _"It is you, is it not? It has been a many thousands of years..but it would be impossible for us to forget you." _Ratatosk shook himself out of his surprise and nodded slightly, _"Yes. I am Ratatosk...And I have a task for you." _All of the Fenrir pack perked up, shock etched in their body language. _"Yes, our Monster Lord?"_

Ratatosk stared the alpha in the eye, _"Come with me."_

There were no other questions, the alpha simply nodded. The pack followed after him into a shaded grove and the young blond man raised a hand. Before him, a mass of swirling light appeared. The southern Fenrir pack seemed to fear the portal of Time Space, but the monster lord waved hi hand at them, _"This will take you to a place where you'll be safe from those who hunt your precious furs. Go, and be safe." _The Alpha shot him a thankful look before ordering his pack to follow him.

Silently, he watched the pack of 40 to 50 disappear into the swirling lights and allowed a small smile to appear on his lips. _Oi, Emil. Just saved a whole species from extinction. What about you? _

_**Setting up the path for an old friend. Though, she hasn't met us yet, of course.**_

_You mean...her?_

_**Yup. Now you know you're jealous, Ratatosk.**_

_Hardy-har-har, Emil. Whatever. Look, when you're done with that, can you go and help that Southern Fenrir pack that just went through?_

_**Sure, sure. See you when you get back.**  
_

_Right._

Ratatosk let out a huff of a sigh, "I'm slightly jealous. I wanted to be the one...Ah, well. Now we just have to wait for her to catch up with us." He never noticed the dark shadow appear over his shoulder nor did he hear the spell incantation...

Not until it was too late.

* * *

Prologue

_End_

* * *

"...Something is wrong."

"Emil? Are you alright?"

"No...Martel...Ratatosk is..."

* * *

**Prologue Finished. Chapter 1 will be posted at a later date.**


	2. The Favor

_Symphonic Hearts_

Time and Time Again

Rated; T for violence, blood, swearing, and Zelos~

Pairings; Sheloyd, Zellete, Genis/Presea

Disclaimer; HA. Not mine, not mine, yet again, not mine.

Warning: Canon timeline -BAM- out the window

AN; I...don't have a lot to say, today.

Chapter 1

The Favor

* * *

A good conversation is like a skirt, short enough to keep your interest, yet long enough to cover the subject.

~Zelos Wilder, Tale of Symphonia

* * *

Aileena Karson was not having a good day.

This could be attributed to the fact that she had been humiliated rather spectacularly in the lunch room, tripped and fell down a few stairs, and then falling straight on top of the boy she had a rather heavy crush on. While still covered in half eaten mashed potatoes.

Like I said, a very unhappy day.

The teenager cursed violently as she wrung out her dark hair. Her best friend, Miranda, was fretting behind her, "Are you okay, Aileena?" Said girl shot her friend a dirty look through the mirror, "Oh, no, I'm fine. I just embarrassed myself in front of the guy I liked, committed social suicide, and possibly sprained or broke my ankle is all." The strawberry blond flinched. Aileena sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap."

"…I'm sorry for asking a silly question. Look, I'm going to go get a nurse to check your ankle okay? Don't go anywhere!"

"And where would I go, pray tell?" She muttered under her breath as Miranda rushed out of the bathroom. Really, the other girl was her best friend and very important to her, but sometimes she just did moronic things.

Miranda, she reflected, was her opposite in every way. She was social, bright, and cheery. Everyone's favorite. Aileena, on the other hand, preferred to be alone and had a horrible tendency to be sarcastic. She dressed in what she felt was comfortable while Miranda dressed fashionably. Even their hair and eyes were contrasts, Aileena's dark hair and gray-blue eyes to the other's blond and hazel eyes. Of course, out of the two Aileena always ended up with the better grades, despite the fact that she never, ever studied.

Whatever the case, though, Miranda had been her friend since elementary. And unlike some people in this world, she was not about to abandon her.

The young woman wrung the rest of her waterlogged hair before stepped back. She was currently wearing her gym uniform as her actual clothes were still soaking in the water in the sink. Aileena's eyes flicked down to her ankle, which was in considerable pain and appeared rather red and swollen. She sighed, "Damn, it probably is sprained, at least." Aileena shook her head and looked back up at the mirror.

And stared.

Huffing and puffing behind her was a red bird, about the size of her head, clutching her backpack in its peak. It stopped still when it realized she was watching it. Aileena narrowed her eyes. Red panicked and flapped away. To her surprise, the tiny bird was actually rather fast, even when carrying her thirty to forty pound bag. Aileena spun around and ran after it, flinching badly every time her injured left ankle hit the ground.

She barely even noticed when her chase of the red creature took them out the back doors of the school and into the neighborhood. In fact, Aileena didn't notice much besides her pain and utter _rage at this stupid effing bird, how dare it take my bag!_

The dark haired girl was panting by the time Red decided to drop the bag to the ground and flutter away. Angrily, she shook and fist at the parting bird. Aileena then collapsed, grasping her ankle tightly. Pain sung through her veins and pulsed through her bones as she shut her eyes tightly. _Damn_, it hurts. If it hadn't been broken before, it most likely was now, with all the running she had been doing without heed. And seeing as she was in the middle of the forest with a badly hurt ankle and a dead cellphone…

Wait.

Middle of a Forest?!

Aileena's head snapped back up as she stared blankly at the green canopy. She then proceeded to swear loudly and fiercely, cursing all the fates for such a bad day. It wasn't until then that she heard the rustling of leaves. Aileena's mouth snapped closed and she screwed her eyes shut. _Oh, CRAP, _she thought, _I'm _so_ screwed! Oh god, oh god, oh god..._

The rustling grew louder until she could hear individual footsteps(_just one pair_) and suddenly stopped. She slowly peeked one eye open…

Only to be met with the face of a young blond boy. He blinked forest green eyes at her and then gave her a small grin, "What're you doing way out here?" Aileena stare turned into a glare, "I could ask the same of _you_, ya weirdo!" "I heard someone swearing up a storm and decided to see who it was. And who do I find but a teenager with a broken ankle who is stranded in the middle of no where?" The 15 year old glared in anger. How dare he insult her?! Even if it was true….

"Whatever. Does it freaking matter?"

"I'd think it does."

"Well, it's a good thing I don't give a damn about what you think."

"Why'd you ask then?"

"…Shut up."

The boy laughed, "Even so, would you at least tell me your name?" "Give me your name and I shall give you mine!" Aileena snarled. For some reason this caused the green-eyed boy laugh loud and long. The dark haired girl continued to glare until he stopped laughing.

"I-I'm sorry, but that just reminded me of an old friend."

Aileena scoffed, "Right. Well? Name!"

"Ah, you were serious?" He blinked, "Its Emil."

The teenager crossed her arms, "No last name? Fine. My name is Aileena." "Aw," He smiled softly, "No last name either?" "You didn't give me yours!" She huffed, "So I'm justified." Emil laughed again, "Okay. So, what were you doing out here anyway?" Aileena blushed a little, but kept trying to keep her scowl up, "You probably won't believe me."

"Oh, I don't know, I've seen some strange things."

"…Fine. A small red bird stole my bag and I chased it here."

Emil raised an eyebrow, "Did you hurt your ankle on the way here then?" "No," Aileena's scowl changed to a simple frown, "I've just had a very bad day." The blond tipped his head to the side, "Oh? Well, what if I could make it better?"

"…How so?"

"I know someone who can fix your ankle."

Aileena stared him in the eye, "Seriously?" "Yup!" He said cheerfully, "But there no way you can get to her with you like that…Oh! I know. You can ride on my back!" The 15 year old stared at the green eyed boy, whom had clapped rather happily at the thought. "...Is there _any _other way?"

"Nope!"

"…Don't pop your 'p's, please," The girl sighed, "Alright. Let's just get this other with." Emil helped her onto his back. With some help from Aileena, he gathered up her bag and set off.

* * *

"So, why are you in a gym uniform? Were you gym or something?"

"No. My normal clothes are covered in half eaten mashed potatoes."

"…Huh? Why?"

"Because the people in my school are utter assholes is why."

"Um…okay then."

"Ha. You lost your composure."

"I don't know what you mean…"

"…"

"…"

"(Kind of naïve, aren't you, Emil?)"

* * *

Aileena was counting the seconds in her head. She was doing this for one thing and one thing alone: To time how long she would be on this guy's back! Though, she mused, he wasn't as girly as she thought, as the arms that gripped her had actual muscle. Emil was just lean, not weak.

The two traveled on in relative silence up until the point they heard a female voice calling for the blond. Aileena blinked. Part of her had been wondering if Emil had been lying, but perhaps not. After all, he had implied that the healer he knew was a woman. The older(or was he younger then her? She didn't know) paused and then set her down on the ground, placing her bag down next to her. "Hey! Martel!" He called out.

Martel? How odd…for some reason the name was vaguely familiar to the young woman, though she couldn't place where from. "Emil! Is that you?" replied the distant voice. "Yeah! Could you open the gate?"

"Of course!"

There was a flash of light that made Aileena cover her eyes. _The heck was that?_ She wondered. As the dark haired girl slowly opened her eyes, she snapped at Emil, "Could've had a bit of warning, you know." Emil, though she couldn't see, winced a bit, "Sorry. I forget that sometimes happens. Though…Come on. Martel can fix your ankle right up."

Aileena felt he body jostle a bit as she was picked back up by the blond. She noted weakly that her eye sight was a little blurry, though it was beginning to clear up. Of course, seeing as all there was, was a blur of green, yellow, and brown, she didn't care too much. Just more trees, after all.

"Oh dear!"

"Hey, Martel. Er, this is Aileena. She got lost in the forest and her ankle is hurt so…."

Wait.

Did he just introduce her? Without her permission? AND implied that she was a moron? Oh, its on.

"Oi! Girly!" The teenager growled, "Don't go telling my name to people before they give me theirs! _And _who are you saying got lost?! I wasn't lost! I just followed that stupid, evil, thieving bird!" Emil winced lightly as Aileena tugged on his hair. "Hey, hey. I wasn't saying that, okay? I'm sorry if it sounded like that."

SMACK.

"OW!"

"Stop saying sorry!"

Martel laughed, "My, you're very lively. My name is Martel Yggdrasil. It's a pleasure to meet you." The dark haired girl crossed her arms, "…I'm Aileena Karson. Don't forget it!" The green(Wait, green?!) haired woman smiled warmly, "I promise I won't. Now, what seems to be the problem, exactly?" Emil slowly dropped Aileena to the ground so the woman could get a look at her ankle. "I _think _it could be broken. At this point, it's a least sprained."

She gave a light hum as she prodded the younger woman's ankle, "Yes, it does seems that way…Oh! I think I've found the problem. It seems there's a hairline fracture in one of your bones. I can take care of it…but, perhaps not yet. We need to get some of the swelling down. Emil? Can you get me some ice?" The blond nodded quickly before running off to find said item.

Aileena stared at Martel's face for some time before finally asking a bit of a rude question; "Why are your clothes so weird? And your hair _green_?" But despite the fact that one would normally be rather insulted, Martel smiled. "My hair is green naturally. And these clothes? They were a gift from an old friend. I couldn't just turn him down, you see." The other female frowned for a bit before opening her mouth to question the elder some more, but was interrupted by a returning Emil.

"Found the ice!" He called, passing the bag to Martel. Said woman smiled gratefully at the blond and placed the chilled bag against Aileena's ankle. She hissed softly as pain flashed up her leg. "Damn," she muttered, "That hurts." Martel gave her sympathetic look before turning to Emil, "Where is your…brother?" The green-eyed male blinked, "Huh? Well, last I checked he was just fine…He was picking up the last shipment. Why?"

"…I see. I'm _worried_ that something may have happened to him."

Emil gave her a startled look before frowning, "I'll go and call him and find out if there's anything wrong. I'll be back." The blond boy hurried away again as Aileena shot them both a curious and slightly concerned look. "What's going on?" She questioned, "And Emil has a brother?" The green haired woman nodded, her long hair swaying slightly in the quiet breeze.

Of course, the younger was slightly miffed at the fact that Martel had not answered her first question.

Martel then took to examining her injured ankle periodically for what seemed like forever until Emil returned. He looked concerned and very worried, "I can't reach him, no matter how hard I try." The green haired woman's head snapped up the meet Emil's eyes. She bit her lip, "That should be impossible…Oh! The swellings gone down enough now." Aileena blinked somewhat from Martel's uick change of subject.

She watched as the elder placed her hand over the injured limb, "This'll hurt a bit, Aileena, so bear with me." Her hand clamped down and the dark haired teenager screwed up her face, hissing in pain.

_Martel used 'First Aid'!_

Aileena's eyes were shut tightly, so she did not notice the flash of light from Martel's hand, though she did notice the murmured words that sounded vaguely like 'First Aid.' It was only a couple of after this that the younger girl noted that the pain was gone. Completely gone. She opened her eyes and stared at her now totally healed ankle. "How the hell did you do that?!"

"Trade Secret, heh-heh."

"Right."

Martel giggled again before straightening up. Aileena, with the help of Emil, stood up as well. "So…Now that that's done, I've got another question for you. Have we ever met before? You're _really _familiar." The elder shook her head, "I'm sorry. I'm very certain I would remember meeting someone as spirited as you." "I see," Aileena sighed lightly.

"Actually," Martel gave her a serious look, "Could you help me?"

"…I don't understand."

"Well, I need your help for something. Will you help me?"

The younger woman shifted from foot to foot, "I suppose…" Before Aileena could ask what she wanted, the elder woman's eyes lit up and she raised both hands, "Thank you! I promise, you'll be fine." As a strange circle flashed around them, the dark-haired teen's eyes went wide. "Wait!" She called, "What's going on?!"

Emil sent her a guilty look, "Sorry for heaping all of these on you…But you're the only one who can do this." "What?" She hissed, "Do what?!" Martel was murmuring something in a language that Aileena had never heard before in her entire life. She tried to move—But she was frozen to the spot.

"We need you to do this, Ailee…Or the world is doomed."

"Wha—Ailee? Is that supposed to be a nickname?! We only just met—Oh, crap!"

The circle around her flashed once, twice, three times before she was greeted with darkness….

* * *

Chapter 1

End

* * *

"Are you sure this was a good idea?"

"If we don't send Aileena back...It will cause a time paradox…One that could destroy more then just our world."

"Ah."

"Now, I believe 'I' should explain to her what has happened…"

* * *

**Aileena** is Level 2!

**Aileena** gained title 'Sarcastic Teenager!'

-Don't you know? All teenagers have to be sarcastic.

Learned arte 'Rapid Winds!'

* * *

**_Aileena Karson_**

_Earth, Human(?)_

_A 15 year old anti social girl who has a hard time accepting things out of her control. Very Sarcastic._

**_Emil_**

_Earth, Human(?)_

_A blond boy that helped Aileena in the unknown Forest. Aided MARTEL in her strange ritual._

**_Martel Yggdrasil_**

_Earth, Human(?)_

_A young, green-haired woman with the strange ability to heal even broken bones in less then a minute. Performed a strange ritual or spell that enveloped AILEENA in light._


	3. The Exchange

_Symphonic Hearts_

Time and Time Again

Rated; T for violence, blood, swearing, and Zelos~

Pairings; Sheloyd, Zellete, Genis/Presea

Disclaimer; Not mine!...Except Aileena and the idea.

Warning: Canon timeline -BAM- out the window

AN; Nggggh...I'm too tired for this.

Chapter 2

The Exchange

* * *

Unlike in fairy tales, the world doesn't live happily ever after.

~Jade Curtiss, Tales of the Abyss

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me."

The young woman stared blankly across the expanse of snow and ice, not noticing the cold due to her shock of being in a_ completely different region! _What the hell did they do? Some weird transportation ritual or something? Aileena forced herself to her feet. If she didn't get moving now, she'd probably freeze to death.

That didn't exactly sound appealing to the teenager, so she pressed forward through the world of snow and ice. All she could be glade for was that it wasn't snowing, which would have been a far worse fate for her. She spent what felt like hours trying to keep warm in her skimpy gym uniform, rubbing her arms and legs as she moved.

She was screwed, Aileena decided. There was absolutely no way she'd be able to find shelter at this rate, and without that, she was as good as dead.

Aileena blinked away the snow that was clinging to her eyelashes. When had she fallen over? She hadn't noticed. _God_, it was cold. The teenager clasped her eyes closed, sucking in a breath. Aileena was going to die. She couldn't keep warm and there was no one to help her…

"…ey…"

…What?

"…kid…"

Was something…coming…?

"…Hey…"

Even if they got here in time, all they'd find was her frozen body.

"…Hey!"

Ah, well. Aileena felt that she had a good run, so who cares…?

"HEY!"

* * *

Wood.

There was a ceiling, and a blanket, and warmth. _Interesting._ Aileena rubbed her finger along the inside of the blanket as if to reassure herself that it was there. Huh. _Guess the afterlife isn't that bad after all._ She mused as she heard a chair scrape toward the bed.

"You okay, kid?"

Aileena hummed in reply, not really registering anything. The young woman was certain she was dead, after all, this was probably either death or limbo. Either way, it wasn't all that bad to her—"Kid! Listen, you're not dead. Stop muttering that, okay?"

She'd been muttering?

"Yeah. You still are."

…Oh.

"Um," she mumbled, "Who are you?" Aileena gave the other being in the room a once over, checking out his rugged appearance. He looked to be in his late 40s, at best. The man snorted, "Name's Engil. Make a dumbass comment on how it sounds like 'Angel' and you'll realize that freezing to death is a walk in the park in comparison to what I'd do ta ya."

Aileena gave him a somewhat startled look. "Okay, I won't. My name is Aileena, before you ask. Ah, but where am I?" Engil crossed his arms and leaned back. His cigar twitched back and forth between his lips as he said, "Out skirts of Flanoir. I'd live _in _Flanoir, but I'm not exactly accepted round here, kid."

"Why not?"

"….Kid. Know many humans with blue hair and many elves who live near humans?"

The teenager frowned. "…I don't get it." Engil snorted again, pulling his cigar from his lips. "I'm a half-elf, kid."

"I'm not a kid. I'm an adult, dammit."

"Right, keep telling yourself yer not a kid."

A strange silence that wasn't quite awkward descended over the duo. Aileena played with a few loose threads on the blanket as Engil stood up and hurried out the room. She refused to look back up, not really understanding the situation. Half-elves? Elves? Flanoir? Had she been dumped in some weird fantasy world.

_Though…_ she cupped her face in her hands. _Flanoir does sound familiar._

As the young woman thought on that topic, Engil reappeared, a bowl in his hands. "Here ya go kid, some soup to warm ya up." Aileena hummed her thanks as she dipped her spoon into the bowl. After a few failed trys, she gave up and simply drank from the bowl it self.

Engil seemed amused by this, but didn't say a word. While she finished her soup, the man left the room again. Only a few minutes after he left, Engil returned with a bag. He held it out to her. Aileena paused in her drinking and gave him a confused look. He raised an eyebrow. "I found this with you. Seeing as you were the only one around…"

She accepted the bag, feeling confused. Aileena's backpack had not transported with her, left in that strange grove with the equally strange Martel and Emil. A brief scowl crossed her face at the thought of the two but shook it off. No point in trying to plot revenge against a couple of people she couldn't reach right now.

"Alright, kid, I'm going out to get some fire wood for the house. Stay tight, alright?" Aileena jolted at this, glancing up at the man. She opened her mouth to argue(_You'll leave me here all alone?_) but stopped. The fire was getting low and there didn't seem to a lot of wood left…so Engil's mission seemed an intelligent one. The teenager sighed, "Okay, I'll be here…"

He either didn't hear or didn't care about her statement as Engil did not reply as he left the home. Once the man had left, Aileena pulled herself into a better sitting position. She supposed now would be a better chance then any to investigate the place she had ended up.

When she got out of the bed, the young woman noted that she was wearing now a white dressing gown. For a moment she pondered where she had gotten it, but at the moment she realized where, she made a face. Aileena shook herself and then pulled her attention from her new outfit to the room around her.

The room resembled what she imagined a log cabin from the early 1800s to look like; Spacious but with a single floor. There were only three rooms. The one she was in she presumed was the bedroom(though why there were two beds, she had no idea) while there was the kitchen and what she believed to be the parlor…Or a dining room of some kind. It did have a table, but beyond the dining table, it looked very much like a room you would invite guests to stay in.

After she returned to the bedroom, feeling at least a little satisfied, Aileena noted that something felt different. The teenager searched, trying to find what seemed different when she noticed something sitting on the bed side table. Aileena frowned. The strange bronze object had not been there before. She reached forward and picked it up.

She was only given a few minutes to note that it was not an object but a device when it whirled to life.

Now, what is the most natural reaction for any person to take when something of this nature happens? It's very simple.

Aileena dropped it.

Now sitting on the floor, a light flickered on. Amazingly, the device had landed light up and the shaft was beaming upwards. Aileena shifted from foot to foot. She was nervous; What if it was bomb? Engil would be so upset….And why the hell did she care?

Probably because he save her…

_"Aileena."_

Said teenager jumped and looked up.

Standing there was a faded out image of Martel, whom was smiling softly at her. Aileena's eye twitched at how pleased she looked.

_"I'm glad this message got to you…I was a bit worried it wouldn't. However, if you are listening to this, it did, so there's no reason to worry. Now, you're probably wondering what's going on. To begin with, I believe I should inform you that you are now five Thousand years in the past."_

"What."

_"Let me continue, please. You see, we need you to save Ratatosk. If you don't, our little time paradox here will collapse in on itself, and we'll all die. I would explain why, but I'm afraid of this message being heard by someone else besides you…so I won't get into that. Though, it would be nice if you only did it to get Emil back his 'brother'. However, instead, I shall also inform you that you are only half human."_

"Double What." She glared at the hologram(or at least that's what she believed it was). "Are you saying I'm…?"

_"Half-elf. As such you can use spells…Magic Spells, through the use of Mana. In the bag I left you should be a book of these spells, so please use that to learn magic. Also included should be a pair of outfits, one good for cold areas and the other for about everywhere else. Both are spelled to that they won't be easily destroyed; Basically, nothing shot of a nuclear bomb can destroy them."_

"Those," Aileena said with a completely straight face, "Are some badass clothes."

_"There should also be an exsphere, key crest, and wing pack. Where ever you ended up should have someone who can help you equip the exsphere and key crest. The wing pack has a rheaird and extra storage. Anything that can go bad should go in the wing pack, okay?"_

The teenager groaned, "Okay, I get it. But why me?"

_"We need you, Ailee. It can only be you…I'm sorry." _She really did look sorry. _"I hope you have a safe journey."_

The hologram flickered away then, nothing more for Martel to say. Aileena was miffed. They hadn't told her who had taken Ratatosk or where to go. Nothing at all. Though…Perhaps they had given her enough. Enough to figure out where she was.

Aileena sat down on the bed she had recently vacated. Martel, who lived in a grove with a huge tree. Emil, a green eyed blond who was worried about his brother, Ratatosk. Flanoir, the snowy city in which she now resides…Half-elves…

_Tales of Symphonia…_

_You have got to kidding me._

* * *

When Engil came back, it was to see the young woman he had saved burying her face in the pillow and screaming her lungs out. "What _are_ ya doing, kid?" The girl looked up, glaring. She snarled before shoving the pillow back into her face. Engil snorted.

"Kid, if you want ta have dinner, yer gonna have ta tell me what's wrong sometime." Aileena looked up then, frowning deeply. She sighed. "I'm pissed and upset and screaming into the pillow."

"And _why_ are you screaming into a pillow?"

She huffed, "I was told once that it helped with being upset." Aileena gave it a surprised look. "It actually does work, at least a little." Engil shook his head, obviously wondering where she had gotten the idea. Aileena didn't bother to inform him, as it was kind of hard to explain she was either from a different universe entirely or, apparently, from the future.

The teenager had no idea what to make of the last thought, as she had once thought things like time travel were impossible. So, what to do and what to say? Where to go? Engil glanced over to her and before speaking up. "What're ya going to do now, Kid?"

Aileena rubbed her inner arm. She didn't know. How could she, as the only hint about her mission she had been given was that Ratatosk had been captured…And, it was most obviously not the Ratatosk of this time, or else there'd probably be more things exploding. She ran a hand through her hair. "Would it be alright if I stayed here while I figure that out?"

Engil seemed surprised, if only for a brief moment, by the request but gruffly agreed to it. Aileena mused that the man had probably hadn't had company in some time, judging by the state of the dusty parlor slash dining room.

She stretched as Engil disappeared from the room again.

Time to get to work.

Aileena flipped a page in her book, reading through the strange text that she was somehow able to read. She assumed it was due to Martel sending her back in time (or through dimensions) that allowed her to both understand and speak both the written and spoken language of the land. It was incredibly useful, as it allowed her to read the spell book that Martel had left in her new travel bag along with her new sets of clothes and dagger.

The young woman had no idea how to use the dagger, but learned that Engil would be willing to teach her a few basic techniques…One of which she apparently already knew, which was bit confusing for both student and teacher. Engil decline on teaching her magic, as he seemed hesitant to even speak of his elvish blood, probably due to how it was treated because of it for the past few decades. When asked, Engil just said that he was old enough to remember the last Chosen to travel the world…

The last Chosen to bring about Tethe`alla's Regeneration.

She had been tempted to ask if he had ever met that Chosen, but the look on the man's face convinced her not too. After all, she had never seen someone so sad and so angry at once before. So, instead, the teenager asked when dinner would be ready. Engil relaxed instantly and had replied with a 'soon' before leaving the room.

Only a few days after she had first arrived did the young woman begin to feel stir crazy...other wise called cabin fever. When Aileena brought it up, Engil suggested she go to Flanoir. Feeling a bit reckless because of her cabin fever, she agreed. Next thing she knew, Aileena was standing alone at the entrance to the snowy city.

A lot happened in only one short hour in the city for the teenager. She ran into many people, some welcoming and some not so welcoming. And then there was Mina Wilder.

Mina Wilder was red head young woman whose father was the mayor of Flanoir. The man was by no means a bad parent…just one who didn't know when to stop giving his daughter what she wanted. So, Mina grew up to be a snobby, spoiled, and haughty witch with a capital B. Basically, she was different then Aileena in every way.

Of course, the girl's attitude rubbed her the wrong way, as it reminded her far too much of how her own siblings acted. Because of that, Aileena did something that one would call fool hardy the first time they met…

She punched Mina square in the face.

The other had screamed after her for hours, the red-head's voice echoing in the icy city as Aileena high-tailed it out. No reason to try and piss anyone off anymore then she had, as there was no doubt that Mina's father would be out for her blood.

Aileena had no idea that she had just put herself in Flanoir's spotlight and would stay there until she left on her journey to find, and save, Ratatosk.

* * *

Chapter 2

End

* * *

"I _think _she got my message."

"Er, did you mention how far back she is?"

"…Opps."

"Martel! You forgot to tell her that she time traveled _and _how far back she is? !"

"…Yes?"

"Dammit!"

* * *

**Aileena** is Level 5!

**Aileena** gained title 'Unwilling Time Traveler'!

- Seriously? I didn't ask to be sent back in time!

Learned arte 'Roaring Lion'!

Learned Spell Arte 'Fireball'

* * *

**_Aileena Karson_**

_Earth, Half-Elf_

_A 15 year old anti social girl who has a hard time accepting things out of her control. Very Sarcastic. She is not very happy about being forced into the past…nor is she happy about the truth of her origins._

**_Emil_**

_Earth, Summon Spirit._

_A blond immortal boy who is the counter part to RATATOSK. He lent his power to MARTEL to help with the time transfer to get AILEENA to save RATATOSK._

**_Martel Yggdrasil_**

_Earth, Tree Spirit_

_MARTEL is a green haired young woman with a perchance of mischief. Unfortunately, thanks to that, she did not inform AILEENA of the truth of what her 'favor' was._

**_Engil_**

_Tethe`alla(Flanoir), Half-Elf_

_An old man who lives alone on the edge of Flanoir. He's cranky and a bit demanding, but is rather kind beneath the hard exterior._

**_Mina Wilder_**

_Tethe`alla(Flanoir), Human_

_The haughty daughter of the mayor of Flanoir, she considers herself better then everyone else simply because she is related to the Chosen. AILEENA put her back in her place with a well placed punch. _


	4. The Wait

_Symphonic Hearts_

Time and Time Again

Rated; T for violence, blood, swearing, and Zelos~

Pairings; Sheloyd, Zellete, Genis/Presea

Disclaimer; Not mine!...Except Aileena and the idea.

Warning: Canon timeline -BAM- out the window

AN; Hey, Hey, double update today.

Chapter 3

The Wait

* * *

No one stands a chance against the great Zelos!

_You mean no one can stand you, right? _

Lloyd, that was seriously harsh, man.

~Zelos Wilder and _Lloyd Irving_, Tales of Symphonia

* * *

Flanoir was a rather bustling and loud city, much to the half-elf teen's surprise. With how it appeared in the game, she had believed it to sparsely populated, due to the cold. She then remembered Alaska and noted that Flanoir had probably about a quarter of the entire state's population, which, in retrospect, is a lot.

Of course, Aileena had grown used to the city as she had been there for about a month now. She briefly wondered where in the Symphonia timeline she was at, though she definitely knew that Lloyd and his companions had not yet come to Tethe`alla—Or Mina Wilder would probably be held in even lower regard as the distant cousin of a traitor Chosen AKA Zelos Wilder.

Mina however was held in the same regard by both Aileena and the townspeople; Basically, barely held back rage. The redhead was very vain and enjoyed lowering other people's self esteem. There were, of course, people who viewed Mina as a goddess. These people were bluntly called by Aileena as a 'Fan Club.'

The term was heartily used by all the townspeople.

What Aileena was unaware of, however, was he own popularity and fan club following her around. Many times she ran into one and then treated her much the same as Mina's groupies did the said redhead. However, the teenager did not connect the two and simply assumed that they were being over zealously welcoming.

After a month, though, it was getting rather irritating, for everyone except the groupies.

At this very moment, Aileena was twirling her new long dagger, a gift from a local weapon's shop owner, and practicing a few moves that Engil had shown her the day before. When the teenager successfully executed the tech 'Roaring Lion' that she had been having trouble with was when Mina decided the pop in.

The Wilder looked distinctly more arrogant then usually, as her groupies fluttered around behind her. Aileena turned and sneered at the young woman, "What do you want, Wilder?"

She received a likewise sneer in reply. "Nothing to do with _you_, Karson. After all, how could you be worth my time?"

"Of course!" Aileena mused, "You're right. There's no need for me to waste my breath on someone as pathetic as you! So, if you'll excuse me, I need to go back to practicing."

Mina looked livid. Naturally, she was upset over being outsmarted (_again_) by a 'low-born peasant.' Said low-born peasant smirked to herself as she slashed a Rapid Winds across her training dummy. Due to the fact that she was turned away, Aileena did not notice Mina make a vague gesture in her direction, giving the groupies a significant look.

It was only when a voice spoke up that they all froze.

"Anything going on here?"

Aileena spun around, a grin catching on her lips. The speaker was an older man in his early thirties. The man wore the standard uniform for a Traveling Merchant from the Merchant's Guild, his large red hat covering most of his tan hair from sight. His green eyes held a hint of both warning and amusement at the situation before him as he ran a hand through his thin beard. This man was Jason Ryan.

"My, my, Aileena," He spoke, "Getting yourself in trouble again?"

She laughed, "Not on your life, Jason."

He touched a hand to his chest, "Ah, I'm hurt, Ailee, I truly am."

Mina growled and gestured for her groupies to follow her. As she left the practice courtyard, she shot Jason a charming and somewhat flirty smile. Jason raised an eyebrow. "She does know I'm married, right?"

The only other person in the courtyard burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as she did so. Jason grinned at his little helper and pulled own his rolled up sleeves. "So, how've you been, since I last came?" Aileena shrugged.

"Okay. Better then last time, at least."

"Getting used to Flanoir, then, that's good."

Aileena laughed, "Sure! So, what's going on in the rest of the world?"

Jason's expression morphed to a serious one. "Some major things are going on, Aileena. I don't know, but have you heard about the world running parallel to our own? Sylvarant?" The half-elf nodded once. "Well, the Chosen of Sylvarant appeared, here, in Tethe`alla."

Her eyes went wide. Lloyd Irving and his group were in Tethe`alla? !

"That's not all," He continued, "Zelos Wilder, Tethe`alla's Chosen, was supposedly spying on them…But recently betrayed Tethe`alla for Sylvarant!" _Oh, haha, Mina! Not even your fan club will stay for you now!_

_Wait,_ she frowned to herself, _Why is that the first thing I think? Geez._

"Does anyone know where they are now?" Aileena questioned, as she needed to gauge when the group would arrive in Flanoir.

Jason pulled his hat off to run a hand through his hair. "They saw they were last seen leaving Sybak, and heading the general direction of Ozette. Though, how truthful that is, I have no idea."

Aileena sighed. So that meant at least another month before they arrived. Especially when they're traveling through the Forest of Death, to Mizuho, and then the whole thing with Volt. Wonderful…more time in a freezing wasteland. Not that she didn't love spending time with Engil and the other residents of Flanoir…

She was just very tired of it.

"So!" Jason said loudly, "Enough of that. How about we talk about something you can get me to some things to sell back in Meltokio again…"

Sadly, Aileena shoved the previous subject out of mind and leaned forward to listen to the list o fthing Jason required this time…

_Only two weeks left._

The teenager was rather eager for that day to come, as, despite being nervous about how she was going to convince the group to allow her along, it meant she could finally see more of Tethe`alla. That, in her eyes, was worth any lie she could conjure to convince them.

She would miss her tech and spell Artes teacher, Engil, as well as the many residents of Flanoir. Whatever may come, she would remember them, even if she never saw them again.

Aileena hissed and clasped her hands, trying to stop her left hand from bleeding. Damn, she had cut herself! The chef she was helping out shot her a concerned look. She grinned and said in her best reassuring voice, "Its fine, I barely cut myself." The chef frowned and put his own knife down to inspect her hand.

When he turned away to put it down, Aileena hissed the enchantment spell for First Aid. For a few minutes her hand tingled, but when the chef examined it, it was completely fine, only a light nick line where she had cut herself. The chef nodded and told her to clean the knife before continuing.

An hour later and Aileena was strolling out of the restaurant, humming 'Starry Heavens.' Mina Wilder, disgraced because of her traitorous cousin, shot her a dark look. A bright and wide grin crossed Aileena's lips and she returned the vain woman's glare with a beaming smile.

Mina Wilder: 5, Aileena Karson: 1007.

The young woman sniggered to herself as she stepped down the stair leading toward the middle level of Flanoir. Really, she was a bit pleased that Mina had been shot down a few pegs, though the arrogant snot still tried to call all the shots in the city.

Ha.

That wasn't how it worked anymore, Wilder.

Aileena all but skipped to Jason's stall, grinning like a mad man all the way. When she arrived, the man gave her a wary look. "What's got you all happy and puffed up?"

Her smile grew wider.

"That's very simple, my dear! I now have a stable job up in the upper level!"

Jason blinked in surprise then returned her smile. "That's great, Aileena! I'm sure you'll do well." Then his face fell. "Ah, but this means you won't be helping me out with my wares anymore. That'll be a shame."

She blinked as well, having not thought of that. "Well, I still can. It just means that now you don't _have _to pay me." Jason laughed before stating he still would anyway.

The teen bounced on her heels, glad she could make the merchant happy before telling the many she had to go. "It's late," she explained, "And it'll be getting really cold soon. I'll get the things on you list in the morning and give `em to you after my shift at the restaurant to over, okay?" Jason agreed easily and Aileena left the stall, calling a farewell over her shoulder.

When she arrived back in Engil's home, it was to find the half-elven man looking worse for wear. He didn't say a word to her as he disappeared into the kitchen and didn't come out until the time that had been unanimously called dinner time. Aileena twirled her fork between her fingers as the man laid out the—as always—simple dinner. Finally, after ten minutes of stony silence, she spoke up. "Okay, what's wrong?"

Engil jolted slightly and then surveyed her, one eyebrow rose over his tired eyes. "I don't know what you mean," he lied through his teeth. He always was a terrible liar.

The young half-elf scowled. "That's a lie. Tell me, what's so wrong that you didn't even glance at me in greeting when you got back?" The man sighed and looked at the ceiling. The food steadily grew colder.

"Aileena."

Said teenager shifted in her seat.

"Have you ever wondered why I'm all alone? Its not because I'm a half-elf, at least, it didn't used to be."

"Really?" She frowned. "That's what it always seemed like to me. What happened, then, to make you all alone that _doesn't _have do with being half-elf?"

He leaned forward, chin resting on clasped hands. His eyes roamed her face and Engil allowed himself a sigh. "My wife and son were killed, as I nearly was, for escaping Sybak's labs." Aileena screwed up her face. What, had they been test animals?

No, wait…

Oh, yeah.

Half-elves were slaves, basically, in Tethe`alla. In Sybak, you were stuck for life, working as a scientist to better the lives of everyone except you and the others stuck with you. Clearly, though, Engil had once been in the Labs…With his wife and son.

"So…I don't understand."

Engil sighed again. "Myself and my wife were both raised outside of the labs, as we were born before that law came into existence. However, our son wasn't so lucky. As soon as the soldiers learned we were all half-elven, we were taken to the labs. Not even…not even my status as a companion as the Savior Chosen saved me."

Aileena's eyes lit up: So, Engil _had _been a companion of the last Regeneration of Tethe`alla's Chosen.

The man, ignorant to her thoughts, ran a hand through his hair. "When my son was about your age, we decided to try and escape. What better way then to use our magic? So, we tried. I got out...But my son and wife died along the way." _Well, that _sucked.

"So _that's _why you refuse to teach me magic, right?" Aileena questioned, biting her lip. Engil could only nod to her slightly hesitant question. _Ah, well,_ she thought, _I'd probably do the same. But still..._ Magic would be really useful in her fight to find Ratatosk.

Silence came again as they finished their meal.

* * *

Chapter 3

End

* * *

"A man who became an orb…An Orb with much power.

"No doubt, he is of a magical nature. However…

"Until I test its powers, I will not present it to my Lord Yggdrasil. Not until then…"

* * *

**Aileena** is Level 9!

Learned Arte 'Roaring Lion!'

Learned Arte 'Wander!'

Learned Spell Arte 'Blessed Drops!'

Learned Spell Arte 'First Aid!'

* * *

**_Jason Ryan_**

_Tethe`alla(Flanoir/Meltokio), Human_

_A cheerful merchant from Meltokio. AILEENA often helps the man out when he is in Flanoir._


	5. The Journey Begins

_Symphonic Hearts_

Time and Time Again

Rated; T for violence, blood, swearing, and Zelos~

Pairings; Sheloyd, Zellete, Genis/Presea

Disclaimer; Not mine!...Except Aileena and the idea.

Warning: Canon timeline -BAM- out the window

AN; ...Last Chapter with pairings. Laaast warning.

Chapter 4

The Journey Begins

* * *

What a coincidence, because I don't feel the need to introduce myself to a moron who doesn't realize how pathetic he is.

~Lloyd Irving, Tales of Symphonia

* * *

Aileena stretched her arms over her head. Ah! What a wonderful day…Or it would be, if it weren't for the horrible vibes she was getting from the upper sector of Flanoir. Did Mina really hate her _that _much? Jeez, that girl needed to get a life.

The half-elf teen was almost skipping down the road from the restaurant. Well, there wasn't much she could do about Mina, but maybe she could pick up some thing from the market for Engil, as he was making dinner tonight. She stepped passed stalls and many people wandering between them, searching for the Merchant's Guild sector, where all the best foods were.

When she entered that sector, it was met with quiet gossip. She only heard snippets, none of which interested her. Instead, Aileena moved over the nearest stall. Jason Ryan, her favorite merchant, was shifting his item around on the stall, as if unsatisfied by how they were set up. She frowned. The normally cheerful man looked upset and sad, which was odd to her. What could have happened to make him look like that?

"Hey, Jason? You okay…?" The man jerked at her question and glanced up. He gave her a wobbly smile in response, stating that he was fine. "You sure as _hell_ don't look fine to me. Look, something's happened, tell me what it is!"

He sighed, "I've been given an impossible task." Aileena frowned but gestured for him to continue. "You see, I've been asked to get a Celsius Tear. Aileena, you of all people know how near impossible it is to find one! Let alone one that is in good condition…" She winced in sympathy.

Jason was very right. Celsius Tears were almost impossible to find, as they only grew in the Flanoir region. Not only that, but you could only find the flowers in full bloom at the Temple of Ice. Seeing as it was suicide to try and even go near the place, Aileena could see why Jason viewed it as impossible. But, even so, why was he so upset besides that? "There's more, isn't there?"

The man bowed his head. "Yes. If I don't get that Celsius Tear, I'll be shut down. I wouldn't be able to be a Merchant anymore!"

"Wha—There no way that's allowed!"

"It _is._"

"But that's so unfair!"

"I _know_. But there's nothing I can do about it…"

Aileena frowned deeply. "Yes, there is."

He looked up, questioning what she was talking about. Her expression was entirely serious. "I'll get one for you."

"No! You'll be killed, no matter how good you are with that sword-dagger of yours!"

She placed her hands on her hips. "I'm doing it! And there's nothing you can say to change my mind!" The two glared at each other for some time before Jason covered his face with a hand. "Martel, Aileena. Just promise you won't die?"

"I swear it," The teen said seriously, "On not only Martel, but on Tethe`alla itself."

The half-elf straightened than. "Well, now that that's covered, I think I need to go and get some stuff for dinner tonight…" Jason shoved the items into her hands. "Huh? But.."

"No need," the merchant gave her a sad smile, "You're getting me a Celsius Tear…It's the least I could do in return." Aileena rubbed the back of her neck, smiling nervously. She moved the items into a better position in her arms and set off, calling a goodbye to the merchant.

As she walked back down to the stairs that lead down to the lower city, Aileena heard snippets of gossiped conversations around her. Normally, she would pay it no heed, but she heard two keywords that made her freeze…

_"I saw Zelos Wilder…Here, in Flanoir!"_

Aileena spun around on her heel and walked back to the women who were hissing their gossip. "You!" She demanded, the woman in questions jumping slightly, "What was that about Zelos Wilder?"

The other women fidgeted before the first speaker spoke up again. "He's here. In Flanoir."

"_Where_? !"

"I t-think in the L-lower city, but—!"

The teenaged half-elf spun and shot off, shooting a 'Thank you' over her shoulder. The items in her arms jingled and clanked as Aileena sprinted down the main city stairs. _Crap, crap, crap…_

How could she have forgotten that Lloyd's group would be arriving either today or tomorrow? Was she that stupid? ! _Crappity Crap crap…_

As she raced down the last few steps, she 'felt' two half-elves and briefly wondered _why is Engil here and where'd he find another half-elf—_before she slammed head first into someone in bright red. Aileena cursed loudly as all of her things spilled to the floor and she crashed down to her rear. The person she ran into turned around after staggering form the force of the impact. He knelt down. "Ooooh, Sorry! I didn't know people ran that fast in Flanoir…"

"Argh, they don't, I was just rushing…And there's no need for a sorry, I was the one running _and _not looking where I was going…" Aileena looked up and paused. The person she had run into was not just any old person…but one of the people she had been looking for. She opened her mouth to say something intelligent, but instead she said, "WOW, you are _red_."

A man behind them burst into laughter. Lloyd Irving shot the laughing red-head—_Zelos Wilder_—a deadpan look. It just seemed to make him laugh even more. The dark haired and blonde women in the group had stooped down and were helping to pick up her things. Aileena followed suit, casting a quick 'thank you' to Colette Brunel and Sheena Fujibayashi.

Once she had gathered her things up again, she looked the group over. The entire Symphonia Gang(though, did Kratos count as being part of it? Probably not) was standing there. Genis Sage was petting Noishe behind his ears while giving her a weird look. Next to him and wearing a deeply distrustful look was his older sister, Raine Sage. Behind them were the pair Presea Combatir and Regal Bryant.

Time to begin lying.

"Who are you all?"

"You first," Raine shot back. Aileena rolled her eyes. Really? That was extremely childish, Raine, act your age. Of course, she probably had little room to talk about acting her age…_Whatever!_

Aileena secured the items in her arms and shot the woman a dry look. "If any of you have any relation to The Chosen of Tethe`alla, especially recently, I suggest _not _standing around where any member of the Church could just grab you and throw you in jail." The said Chosen raised an eyebrow.

"And why is that, my dear hunny?"

She gave him a 'what-are-you-on?' look before returning her attention to Raine. "The main reason for that is because, against all odds, the Chosen has turned his back on Tethe`alla." Colette looked at her sadly and Zelos scoffed.

The only blond of the group clasped her hands together. "But Zelos hasn't done anything wrong! He's just helping us to save both Tethe`alla and Sylvarant! Right, Zelos?" The rest of the Symphonia group turned and gave Colette a horrified look: She had just revealed who they were to this girl they didn't know!

(This is, of course, ignoring the fact that Aileena was already highly aware of whom they are.)

With a deadpan stare, Aileena crossed her arms. "So, you're saying that Zelos Wilder is here, just like the rumors say…? Wait, did you say 'helping us'…?" The group winced and Colette covered her mouth with her hands. Obviously, she had just realized that she had made a rather bad mistake.

"Oh, wonderful, now I'm going to be accused of hiding the traitor Chosen and shipped off to Sybak like all the others…" she muttered under her breath. Genis looked up and frowned. "What do you mean, 'Shipped off to Sybak like all the others'?" Aileena grumbled to herself. Were they really so dumb that they couldn't figure out what she meant? Honestly…

Lloyd frowned and opened his mouth to speak more but Aileena pressed a finger to his lips. "Look. I don't think you understand. If you guys are really involved in all of this drama with Zelos Wilder—" "The one and only!" "—Shush, idiot. If you're really involved, I really suggest _not _going to the Inn, as the Papal Knights have probably heard the rumors and have the place staked out by the guys."

Aileena paused.

"Wait, you're Zelos Wilder?"

The red-head puffed hi s chest out and smirked widely at her. The teenager gave him a dark look, which made him wilt ever so slightly. Aileena punched him hard on the arm. "Have you any idea how much of a pain in the ass your stupid cousin is? ! She is probably one of the most annoying people I have _ever _had the displeasure of meeting!" She jabbed him the chest. "I am dead sure she wants to _kill me_. And why? Just because I don't _bow down to her every whim_. And why does she think that? Because her dad caters to every one of her demands and because she is_ related to the Chosen of Tethe`alla._"

Aileena looked like she wanted to place her arms on her hips to look disapproving, but her bags of food prevented her from doing so. Zelos beat a hasty retreat behind Raine, who looked slightly surprised by the teen's mini speech. The rest of the group just gave her bemused looks.

Colette stepped up. "Um, you said the Papal Knights are probably over by the Inn, right? So, if there's any place we could stay in Flanoir…?"

"No, there isn't any. That Inn is the only one in Flanoir. And don't bother with Mina, she hates _you_," She nodded to Zelos, "Simply because you took away any chance of anyone here adoring her."

When she finished, Aileena noted that everyone seemed slightly depressed except for the two: Lloyd and Raine. The latter was giving her mistrustful look(as usual), though the former's expression was rather unreadable. Ignoring Lloyd for now, she rested her eyes on the elder half-elf.

"…You're neurotic, aren't you?"

While Raine spluttered in indignation and, behind her, Sheena nodded in agreement; Lloyd had seemed to have come to a decision. He looked up at her, his odd little ponytails bobbing up and down as he did. "Do you know some place where we could stay for the night?"

Aileena ignored the angry comments Raine was now shooting at the twin swordsman before replying with: "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. But it's up to you to follow."

She set off, even as part of her prayed that they came. What would she do if they stayed in Flanoir and didn't come with her to Engil's place? Would their journey fail, or would it still succeed? _Dammit, Martel, a few guidelines would have been nice!_

It was only after the teenager passed through the south gates that she realized there were eight pairs of human footsteps following her. So they had decided to trust her, at least for now. Engil, she knew, was going to be upset…

* * *

"Have you completely LOST your mind? !"

The half-elf winced and wilted beneath the fiery man's temper. He had been berating her for the past three hours over her decision to allow the Symphonia group to stay there for the night. She had known he'd be upset…but not this upset. Did it have something to do with them being…Ooooh.

Chosen.

"Oh, I dunno, Engil!" Aileena shot back. "Maybe because I've decided to live in the moment and not in the past? ! Y`know, the past where you worked with the last Regeneration's Chosen _and _lost your son and wife? !"

Engil leaned back from her, shocked not only by her finally talking back but what she had said. The Symphonia group stared at the elderly Half-elf with surprise in their eyes. Aileena wilted again.

"…I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that…"

He sighed. "I know. But, you do realize how dangerous this is?"

"Duh." Aileena frowned. "I brought them here because you're the only one in Flanoir I trust enough to keep them safe from the Papal Knights."

The man shook his head. "Only because I am in as much danger as they are in regards to the Knights."

"Oh, because of your little breakout of Sybak? Wasn't that like, forever ago?" Her frown deepened.

"Even possible death doesn't stop the Papal Knights," Engil said darkly.

"Um, if us being here is really a problem, I'm sure we can find someplace else to go." Colette blinked at them both with big, wide blue eyes.

Engil sighed before leaving them and moving into the kitchen. Aileena's frown morphed into a smile. The Symphonia group once again looked on in confusion. The half-elf turned to them. "It's fine. Engil has given up and allowed you to stay here for the night!" She puffed out her chest. "All thanks to me."

Raine rolled her eyes in a rather childish show and Engil gave a gruff laugh behind the counters.

For the next forty minutes, the nine milled around the dining room while the delicious smell of dinner wafted in. As soon as it did, Aileena set up shop in one of the best of the chairs. Sheena and Lloyd seemed to understand what she was doing and took one of the other four best chairs each.

_Too bad. I was kind of hoping Sheena would sit on Lloyd's lap_, came Aileena's unbidden thought. She snorted to herself, finding it at least a little ridiculous.

When dinner finally came, it was sat through with almost complete silence. Of course, this was uncomfortable the younger female half-elf, as shown by her constant fidgeting. "Okay, that's it!" She burst out. "I can't stand it, someone say something!"

"Something." Genis wore a completely straight face.

Aileena snorted in return.

"Oh, you want use to say 'Something'?" Colette asked curiously. The teen covered her mouth with a hand even as Sheena shot down this question with a quick explanation.

Silence returned.

She shifted uncomfortably.

Genis straightened in his chair.

Regal tapped the side of his bowl with a spoon.

Lloyd hummed what sounded like Starry Heavens to himself.

"You're half-elves, both of you, aren't you?"

Ah, the silence shattered like glass.

Engil dropped his spoon into his bowl and gave Raine a stern look. "What does it matter if we are? You are as well."

Raine crossed her arms. "How do we know you don't work for Cruxis?" Engil's expression grew thunderous. Aileena face palmed. Did the professor have no idea what tact was?

"Oi, moron. We know about Cruxis, cause, if you care to remember, Engil _traveled_ with the last Regeneration's Chosen. He, more than anyone, would know why you _wouldn't _want to work with them. And he's given me a healthy about of disdain toward them myself, so I feel fairly insulted you would think so lowly of us." Aileena gave the older woman a fairly dirty look.

The half-elf in question look rather shocked by Aileena's blunt speech. Lloyd of the other hand had a fairly happy look. "Okay, so that means I can ask!"

"Ask what?"

"…If you could show us around the Temple of Ice?"

Ah, here we go.

"_Why._"

The twin swordsman shifted in place. "We~ell, we need to see Celsius. That's why."

Aileena crossed her arms. "No one's been into the Temple since the Last Regeneration, so it's in really bad condition. You could die just form walking in." Presea was carving into her wooden spoon.

"We _need _to, especially if we want to stop Cruxis."

"Stop Cruxis?" Engil cut in. "What do you mean?"

Lloyd straightened. "We're going to stop this whole system of taking mana from each other and make it so Tethe`alla and Sylvarant can both exist without the either being harmed." Engil had a strange look on his face.

"I'd help…"

"Really? !"

"But I can't."

There were many stifled groans from around the table.

"I'm too old, I would only slow you down…However, there is someone who can help you."

Aileena made a face. "Are you volunteering me for something against my will again?" Engil only smirked at her. "Dammit."

* * *

Chapter 4

End

* * *

"I don't trust her."

"_Raine_."

"Don't 'Raine' me, Genis. There's something about her that she's not telling us."

"Like how we never told Lloyd or Colette we were half-elves."

"T-that was different!"

"…No, Sis, I don't think it was."

* * *

**Aileena** is Level 15!

Learned Arte 'Moon's Arche'!

Learned Spell Arte 'Icicle'!

Learned Spell Arte 'Ray'!

* * *

**_Lloyd Irving_**

_Sylvarant(Iselia), Human_

_An Idealtistic dual swordsman who leads the Symphonia group. His parents died when he was very young, leaving him to be raised by a dwarf._

**_Colette Brunel_**

_Sylvarant(Iselia), Human_

_The Chosen of Sylvarant. She is very klutzy but the group calls it blessed as usually only good things come when she trips. COLETTE's best friends are LLOYD and GENIS._

**_Sheena Fujibayashi_**

_Tethe`alla(Mizuho), Human_

_A summoner-ninja from Mizuho. She was originally given the mission to kill the Chosen of Sylvarant, but ended up saving COLETTE instead._

**_Zelos Wilder_**

_Tethe`alla(Meltokio), Human_

_The Chosen of Tethe`alla, he was charged with spying on LLOYD's group and their activities in Tethe`alla. He ended up taking the Symphonia group's side in the end._

**_Genis Sage_**

_Sylvarant(Iselia), Half-Elf_

_A genius pre-teen mage who masked himself as an elf while living in Iselia. He has a massive crush on PRESEA._

**_Raine Sage_**

_Sylvarant(Iselia), Half-Elf_

_She worked as the main teacher in Iselia for all of the village kids. RAINE distrusts easily, and currently mistrusts AILEENA the most._

**_Presea Combatir_**

_Tethe`alla(Ozette), Human_

_PRESEA was one of the people experimented on during the Angelus Project. She is rather unemotional, though she is somewhat better then from before her key crest was added._

**_Regal Bryant_**

_Tethe`alla(Altamira), Human_

_A convicted nobleman from Altamira, he was in love with PRESEA's little sister when she was transformed into an Exbellua. REGAL was then forced to kill her and to atone for it, he had himself jailed._


	6. The Chill

_Symphonic Hearts_

Time and Time Again

Rated; T for violence, blood, swearing, and Zelos~

Disclaimer; Not mine!...Except Aileena and the idea.

Warning: Canon timeline -BAM- out the window

AN; Hey. Updated _Hetalia Tales_. Haven't slept for like, 18 hours. Need sleeep. BTW this was like, 11 pages. Aaaand, I've got like a million ideas bouncing around on the inside of my skull, so don't be surprised to suddenly see a new story from here or there. Also, I'm taking down Time is a Funny Thing. No need to keep it up, anymore, I think...

Chapter 5

The Chill

* * *

Wouldn't it be crazy if a monster just gobbled up your foot right now? Just a giant munch, and oops, no more foot.

~Yuri Lowell, Tales of Vesperia

* * *

The next morning was met with a tired groan. Today, Aileena would be leading the Symphonia group into the Temple of Ice and try not to die. Engil had explained to the group that it was far too dangerous for her to leave them after getting them through the Temple as she could either be injured by surviving monsters or lost in the icy tunnels.

Frankly, she had been insulted the man thought so lowly of her navigation abilities.

Aileena played with a stray thread on her penguin gloves as she awaited the eight to finish their breakfast. There had been a good outcome to all this, as it now presented a chance for her to get the Celsius Tear she had promised Jason.

The first of the group to join her were Genis and Lloyd. Quickly following them were Zelos, Sheena, and Presea. After another ten minutes, the other three appeared and took up a stance in the back of the group. _Is this their battle formation?_

"So, you guys ready to go?" She asked, fidgeting in place. Colette clapped her hands happily and said, "Oh yes! Are you ready, Aileena?" The half-elf gave the blond a weak smile to reassure the girl that she was perfectly fine. Well, minus the strong urge to puke.

_Holy Celsius, this is _such_ a bad idea…And did I just swear by a summon spirit! ?_

The group of now nine left the cabin, Aileena calling a soft farewell to Engil over her shoulder.

There wasn't a grunt of acknowledgement, but then, she wasn't really listening for that, really.

* * *

The snow that swirled around them was cold and stuck to her cheeks and hair. Aileena huffed softly, her breath fogging up in front of her. Stupid wind, why couldn't it go away? If it did, she could actually concentrate on what she was doing and not on how freaking cold it was. Behind her she could hear Noishe making whimpering noises to complain about the cold.

Poor overly-intelligent dog-thing.

(Now, you can't blame Aileena for not knowing what Noishe was, as whatever he was, is always a bit hard to remember in her head, if only because she had processed it as unneeded information.)

Aileena rubbed her arms, her hand briefly passing her long and somewhat clunky dagger. She would very much like to have a blade like the ones in Assassin's Creed. Those blades were so easy to hide and could very easily make you seem unarmed…and they seemed rather light.

Though, she mused, it was probably somewhat difficult to learn how to use.

So she returned to her task of making sure the Symphonia group did not get lost in the snow. It was only after she decided this that Genis complained about the cold behind her. Aileena hissed and spun around. "Who do you think you are? If I had a choice, I wouldn't be here at all! I'm only doing this for Engil. I actually want to make him happy because he has had to deal with more shit in his life then anyone should have to _period_. So stop complaining when we are. _All. Cold."_

Aileena stomped forward in the general direction she was sure they were meant to go in. Of course, the group stood there, stunned, for a few minutes before the rushed after her, afraid of losing themselves in the snowy whirlwind around them.

It took twenty minutes after that to get to the Temple.

The first thing she did was slip past the monsters milling around a large frozen stone. The other eight followed her as best as they could, though Regal and Presea each had a bit of trouble. The reasons were of course different(Regal was huge and Presea was carrying a large and very heavy axe) but equally important.

Inside the temple was simply ice, ice, and more ice. Aileena almost groaned. Silently, she reassured herself that she was inside a temple so there would be no biting wind…or wet and clingy snow.

She rolled her shoulders to try and shake the stiffness from the long walk out to the chilly and ice-covered building.

When Genis passed her, she simply made a displeased noise at him. Several upset glares drilled into the back of her head and Aileena puffed slightly. Screw this! There was no way in hell she was going with these jerks, no matter what Martel said!...Even if she felt completely shitty and an utter jerk if she left Ratatosk to die!

Yeah.

Definitely not…

Aileena puffed out a groan. Dammit. She had gone and made herself guilty over not saving the guy…What a jerk(even if it's not his fault).

As she mulled over being forced into this situation, someone tapped her shoulder. The teenager grunted in acknowledgement before turning her head. Lloyd was standing behind her with an I-really-am-trying smile. "You…need to guide us to the Seal, right? And then we'll go our separate ways." Aileena gave the older teen a jerky nod.

The group of nine, with the half-elf in the lead, headed through the temple. Every time they came across a monster, Aileena was the first to move and engage the enemy. She was also the one to, without even a backward glance, pass the monsters' quickly cooling corpses. Had the Symphonia group not been in such a hurry, they may have spared a moment to find this disturbing.

Thankfully, they couldn't spare a minute.

It was when they go to that _infernal puzzle_ that she buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "Why. Why must you torture me? I didn't ask for this." Of course, when the realization that they had to _go back_ and get the Celsius Tear to freeze the water hit her, Aileena punched the wall, completely forgetting her tears. "For freaking Efreet's sake!"

Raine was the only one at the moment who dared to speak.

"What is the problem?"

Aileena gave her a savage glare. "We need a Celsius Tear to freeze the water. Unless, of course, you all want to take a dip in the freezing cold water, _twice_, to get to Celsius?" Lloyd frowned and stepped forward, raising his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Couldn't we use the Sorcerer's Ring? We changed it to use Ice mana instead of fire so…"

_That won't work_ she wanted to protest, but remembered that it would seem a tad suspicious if she knew that. "Fine." Aileena threw her hands into the air. "Go ahead. But _I'm _going to go and get the Celsius' Tear, as a back up." She was almost gliding across the ice as the teen passed the elder group.

Behind her, she was dimly aware of Colette, Sheena, and Zelos volunteering to come, though the later was vetoed and apparently replaced with Regal. Not that she cared. Aileena just wanted that damn flower.

The new group of four backtracked until Regal spotted an odd platform above them. "It appears there is something there…however, I'm afraid we may not be able to get to it from in here." Aileena threw her hands into the air again with an angry groan before continuing the lead back to the entrance of the Temple.

* * *

"This sucks."

"What do you mean, Aileena?"

"Well, young miss Chosen, I've got crappy luck. I had to hike out through the snow and wind here to guide a group who I dislike half of and then I have to fulfill an obligation I promised to do or else I'm gonna feel real guilty later."

"Eh? Obligation…?"

"…I need a Celsius' Tear for a friend of mine so he can sell it and _not _lose his job.

"(Can't tell them truth about Ratatosk, after all..)"

"Oh! That's really kind of you."

"Huh, that's kind of surprising to me."

"How very noble."

"Um, thanks?

"…Wait! What do you mean, 'kind of surprising'? !"

* * *

It took some time for the four to finally find the entrance to the platform. Of course, it took one of Colette's lucky falls to get it. "Ick." Aileena muttered, eyeing the muddy snowy that now covered the chosen's front. "That looks disgusting."

Colette, eternally naïve, titled her head to the side. "What is?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Huh?"

"Just take her word for it." Sheena intervened. Aileena found herself shooting the older woman a grateful look before Regal rumbled a gentle statement about getting the flower. The trio of girls winced and hurried into the platform. Colette nearly fell again as they slid in, but managed to find her balance again first.

The half-elf shook her head with fond exasperation (Colette would probably be one of the only reasons she'd go with the group) and kneeled down to examine the Celsius' Tear. When Sheena's hand entered her view to take the flower, Aileena smacked it. "No, bad Sheena."

Sheena raised an eyebrow, though the teen couldn't see that. "Why, exactly, am I 'bad'?"

The younger puffed out her cheeks. "Only penguin gloves are safe to touch a Celsius' Tear, or else you probably would have lost all of your fingers and maybe even your hand just now." The ninja coughed slightly into her hand to cover up her shocked fear. Aileena puffed and shook her head. As she pulled the plant from the icy terrain, the teenage half-elf snickered at her sudden thought, "Hehehe, 'Celsius' Tear…hahha…Icy Tear…"

"What're you laughing about?"

"Ha? Oh, um, just silly joke that's kind of an inside joke that only I seem to get." Aileena scratched her cheek with a sheepish expression as she said this. Colette made a confused noise and Regal shook his head.

Sheena snorted in bemusement. "Right, whatever you say, 'Icy Tear'."

Aileena puffed out her cheeks before sliding the Celsius' Tear into one of her Penguin Gloves. Using the other to cover the petals she cradled the plant in her hands. "We should head back to the others and find out if they got across that lake." She hummed to the others.

There was no need to wait for their agreement: they had already begun to move. Aileena was the last of the quartet to leave the platform and renter the Temple from its proper entrance.

Wind and snow made their trek back slightly more dangerous than their trek to the platform and the entrance was coated in a slight sheen of frost. "Looks like a snowstorm is coming," Aileena muttered. Regal agreed softly with her assessment.

The quartet made it back to the lake with almost no stops(the few being to put down a few of the surviving, but suffering monsters). When they arrived, Raine and Lloyd were bickering about something. Aileena supposed it had something to do with their attempt to make the lake freeze.

"…work, Professor!"

"Perhaps, you should try and aim it in a different section? Or perhaps the lake itself instead of the water flowing in—"

"I'm guessing your guys' try failed, then?" Aileena interrupted. Raine shot her a vaguely dirty look while Lloyd gave her a bluntly grateful one.

Lloyd waved a hand. "See, the Sorcerer's Ring wasn't able to freeze the water at all. Have any ideas, Aileena?"

For some reason, the half-elf teen felt oddly pleased when the elder called her by her name. Shaking off the contentment, Aileena crossed her arms gently. "That's why we left, remember? To get a Celsius' Tear in case your idea didn't work."

"Huh? So you got one?" Genis asked with a frown. The disbelief in his voice made Aileena scowl.

Instead of arguing the point, she gently removed one of the gloves from the other, revealing the mostly unruffled flower. Presea stared at it, intrigued. "…Pretty…"

Aileena didn't comment, but slipped the glove she ad removed onto her hand. Waving the same hand to slap away Raine's, the half-elf plucked a petal from the bud. "Don't touch, Sage, you'll probably lose your fingers. And move so I can put the petal in the water."

Zelos was, in the end, the only obstacle. Of course, it was easy to get him to move by quietly threatening to dump the entire plant down the front of his pants.

Aileena smirked at the thought. No children for him, ha.

It only took a second for a thick slab of ice to cover the entire lake and for the flow of water to be stopped in the process. Aileena volunteered to be the first to go. When Colette began to protest, she simply told her that 'I'm your guide, I'm _supposed _to go first on dangerous things like these.'

The half-elf was internally screaming, though, over the irritating puzzle she would now have to deal with. _Why did I let Engil bully me into this again? Oh yeah, my guilt over abandoning Ratatosk and trying to please the old man. God dammit, I'm such a push over. _She gently put the Celsuis' Tear away.

Stepping as lightly as possibly onto the ice, Aileena was almost automatically sent sliding across. No wonder, in the game, you couldn't just slide around the rocks: The ice was too slippery to even try it! Grasping the rock she nearly gave herself a concussion on, Aileena sent herself sliding across to another.

To her surprise, she managed to get to the other side in less than an hour. "Record." She muttered to herself as the Symphonia group followed her path.

Once they had reunited, Lloyd took point with Aileena close to his side. Of course, they ended up stopping almost immediately after.

"Shit. I forgot about this one."

Raine admonished Aileena from the back on her swearing.

Three toa-dom pole-like statues sat in front of them in a sort of triangle. The group eyed the plaque that held a riddle on its surface. The first of the group to do anything was Raine. The white-haired half-elf grasped one of the statues and struggled to turn it. In a fit of pity, Aileena joined her.

With Raine heading the figuring out of the riddle, they managed to finish it after about an hour. Aileena fist pumped (which earned many odd looks) and let out a cry of triumph. "We finished! Alright, let's get this over with so I can go and hide by Engil's fire place."

Lloyd snickered slightly as Sheena lead the charge into the dark cave entrance.

Once the third(second? First? She technically wasn't born yet) youngest of the group entered, her mouth fell open. "Holy Bloody Skies. That oath makes no sense, but still, this place is crazy."

The cave was entirely carved out of the ice with a metal sort of contraption set in the center. In the center of the metal disk was an odd etching that looked vaguely familiar (she thinks it has something to do with the Church, but what would she know?). Several metal supports were nailed into the ground and as soon as Sheena walked up to it, the entire thing began to glow with very light blue energy.

"I, Sheena Fujibayashi, seek a pact with Celsius!"

A woman appeared in mid air, clad in nothing but a tight white sleeveless shirt that showed off her belly and long skirt with a slit down one side. Her short dark-blue hair held a lighter head band and Celsius blinked baleful ice-blue eyes down at Sheena. The summon spirit smirked slightly.

"I cannot. Not until I annul my pact with Mithos."

Sheena nodded once.

"I, Sheena Fujibayashi, ask that thee annulst thy pact with Mithos and form a new one with me!"

"Alright." Celsius' smirk widen. "Pick your fellows to fight with you."

"Lloyd, Raine." Sheena murmured. The two moved forward to join her. Aileena felt a tiny smile cross her lips. She was going to see a pact making fight!

"…Aileena, will you help too?

The half-elf's smile fell and she blinked her blue-gray eyes at the elder woman. "What." Raine echoed her.

"Will you fight with me?" Sheena asked, a tiny pleased smile on her lips. Why she was pleased, Aileena didn't know. But, she _was _going to stay in Flanoir…might as well get to fight in one for the pact fights, right?

Aileena nodded her consent.

"You have chosen your fellow fighters." Celsius declared. "Now," She said, "It's time to fight!"

This would be the part, in the game, where that weird crashing thing would happen and Aileena would be one the battle field alongside the others. But this wasn't the game, this was real life, so instead, the half-elf was immediately attacked by a blue furred Fenrir.

When Lloyd scooted over to join her, Aileena waved him off. "Go help Sheena, moron! She's fighting a summon spirit! This—is—only—a—monster!" She punctuated each paused with a slash into the large wolf's upper torso. It roared in rage. Lloyd ran back to help the ninja fend off the ice spirit.

Fenrir leapt back before spinning forward. With a choked gasp, Aileena raised her short sword to block the attack. It wasn't very effective. "Freaking shitty blade…" She hissed, stabbing the dented weapon between the wolf's ribs. It snarled in pain.

Her sword was no longer in her hand.

"Oh you have _got _to be _kidding me_."

The Fenrir slammed its large paws right where her head used to be as the half-elf rolled forward to rip her sword free. It took a weak fire spell to slide the weapon out between the beast's ribs, and she was disgusted when its blood spurted out and all over her limbs. "Gross, gross, gross…" It wasn't even _red_. "God, it's _purple_. What the hell?"

"Haven't you killed a monster before?" Raine muttered, dashing past her to smack the beast between the eyes. _Where'd she come from? _

"Yeah, I have. But I usually didn't wait to see what color blood they had—OH, ew." The healer had cast a strong light spell arte that left the beast's side cut wide open.

Raine scoffed lightly. "Well, get moving and finish it off!" Aileena gagged quietly, trying not to stare at the insides of the Fenrir. "Sakura!" With a twirl and stab, she slashed the opened side four times. Following the rapid slashes were several cracks as ribs broke. The Fenrir gave a cry of pained rage.

Aileena winced slightly in guilt.

The healer behind her finished a chant and screamed "Ray!" The light spell arte exploded and the beast dropped. The Fenrir stilled in a pool of gathering purple blood and Aileena gagged. Where had Raine cast that spell?

She shot the younger half-elf a stern look and jerked her head to Lloyd and Sheena, whom both were having a 'dance' with Celsius. Aileena sighed and, flinching away from the Fenrir, moved over to fight with the twin-swordsman and ninja.

"Huh? Is that giant wolf down already?" Lloyd asked curiously as he dodged a punch to the gut.

Aileena made a stab at the Summon Spirit's head. "Sage the Elder helped me out. Oi, Sheena, to your left!" Sheena dodged the kick.

"Man!" Sheena grumbled. "I'm jealous. Wish Celsius was as easy to beat."

The two sword users in the party had to jump to dodge and under leg sweep. "Hey, Lloyd! Wanna help me out? I wanna try something!"

"Uh, sure!"

Aileena skittered back, allowing the elder to take place. Pacing back, she stopped and began to chant under her breath.

_Any spell but icicle any spell but icicle…._

"…Fall to the wind's sword! CYCLONE!"

Celsius cried out in surprise when the wind spell arte smashed into her. Raine, who had moved forward to begin casting First Aid on Sheena, narrowed her eyes. Sheena blinked then grinned at the thought of another spell caster. Lloyd didn't think but kicked Celsius in the face before smacking her head with the hilt of a sword.

Aileena dashed forward again. "Okay! Distant Sky!" She spun in a deadly circle, casting the summon spirit into the air. The half-elf leapt up then and slashed up, catching Celsius' left arm. The two fell back down again, Aileena on her feet and Celsius on her back.

As the spirit began to get up, Sheena dodged under Aileena's arm and smashed a 'Pyre Seal!' across Celsius' chest. She was forcibly slammed backward and into the far wall. Celsius didn't get back up for a long while.

Finally, after what seemed like forever to the young half-elf, Celsius got back up. She was clutching her arm and looked batter and bruised but was grinning like a maniac. "I haven't had such a great battle in perhaps forever! Thank you. Make your vow, Sheena Fujibayashi."

Sheena's face lit up like a Christmas tree and she stepped forward so she was directly in front of the spirit. "I, Sheena Fujibayashi, swear to end the suffering of the people out there at the hands of Cruxis."

_Was that the same as the game…? No, it sounded a little different. _Aileena frowned lightly. Not everything was the same as the game and not everything was the same as real life.

Celsius vanished and a ring appeared in Sheena's hand. On it was a single light blue stone and it looked like it had space for another stone. The half-elf tipped her head to the side, spotting a similar ring that had a purple-ish yellow stone and a dark blue stone on the opposite finger.

"Wow! You were all so amazing!" Colette cheered, moving forward. Presea smiled her agreement and Regal murmured a soft 'Congratulations.'

"I suppose," Genis muttered, "Your Cyclone spell was pretty cool."

_As close as I'm going to get to a compliment from him, I think._

Zelos almost pranced forward. "Ah, my dear chilly Hunny! You were quiet amazing, Ice Beauty~!" Aileena's eyes twitched. _Ice Beauty? How…!_

She punched him in the face.

"Don't call me that!"

"AH! Not another Sheena…!"

Sheena, behind them, burst into laughter at the scene. Lloyd, though she couldn't see, was smiling like crazy. Genis snickered at Zelos' fate and Presea shook her head. Regal said not a word and Raine frowned in disapproval.

Aileena allowed herself a faint smirk.

_Maybe I can do this._

* * *

Chapter 5

End

* * *

"I like Aileena. She's really nice to me!"

"Colette, I don't think there's anyone who wouldn't be nice to you."

"Eh, really, Sheena? You think so? But still…"

"What is it?"

"I kind of want to ask Lloyd if Aileena can come with us."

"W-what?"

* * *

**Aileena** is Level 19!

Learned Arte 'Sakura'!

'Distant Sky'!

'Kitsura'!

Learned Spell Arte 'Icicle Rain'!

'Cyclone'!

'Bloody Howling'!

Earned Title 'Icy Tear'!

- Stop calling me that! It's just a silly joke that doesn't make sense to you `cause you don't get it!

Unlocked Skit 'Obligation.'

* * *

**_Celsius_**

_Tethe`alla(Temple of Ice), Summon Spirit_

_The Summon Spirit of Ice. She is the third pact that SHEENA has made. Opposite her on the mana bridge between worlds is EFREET._


	7. The Quest

_Symphonic Hearts_

Time and Time Again

Rated; T for violence, blood, swearing, and Zelos~

Disclaimer; Not mine!...Except Aileena and the idea.

Warning: Canon timeline -BAM- out the window

AN; Hi. Random discussion about Kratos. I don't have anything more to say.

Chapter 6

The Quest

* * *

Don't worry, the worst that could happen is we all die.

~ Jade Curtiss, Tales of the Abyss

* * *

Aileena curled up with a groan on her bed. Soooo Soreee…Why'd she go to the Ice Temple again? Oh, yeah, Symphonia group and not wanting the universe to implode on itself…No pressure, or anything, right?

Ha…

Brrr…why was it cold all of a sudden? Oh, her blanket was gone…Aileena jerked her head up and glared at the blanket thief. Engil raised an un-repentant eyebrow in response.

The half-elf pouted and left the bed. She noted with some exasperation that she still wore her day clothes instead of her plain pajamas. Aileena scratched her head in bemusement. She had been really tired last night, hadn't she…?

Engil folded the blanket up and placed it on the bed. "That group is still downstairs…And that boy, Lloyd, and the woman Raine are arguing about something or another." Aileena sighed. Raine really liked to make her morning miserable.

Pulling her long coat on over her clothes, Aileena stepped outside of the bedroom and down to the dining room. Standing in a half circle around the two who were arguing was the rest of the Symphonia group. When Colette say her arrive, she clapped her hands. "Aileena! You're here!" Almost automatically, Raine and Lloyd stopped arguing. The half-elf blinked at the sudden change in their moods.

Lloyd sent one last angry glance at Raine before stepping forward. "Um, so we've been talking for a little bit about something important and…well, we were wondering about what you would think about it?"

"About what?"

The red clad teen shot Sheena a desperate look. She just shrugged with a faint smirk back. Lloyd sighed. "We were wondering if you'd be willing to come with us to get the rest of the summon spirits." It came out in a rush. Aileena blinked.

Wait.

What? They were going to ask _her_ to come?...Well, part of her wanted to go for some stupid fandom reason, another wanted to go so she didn't feel guilty about Ratatosk, and the last part felt like just giving them a big fat 'no' and staying in Flanoir.

Unfortunately, Aileena had a feeling if she said no, Martel would figure out a way to get her to go anyway so…

Don't say yes right away, was her final decision.

"Why?"

"Uh, why what?" Lloyd asked sheepishly.

Aileena rubbed her temples. "Why do you need to get the summon spirits in the first place? I know it has something to do with Cruxis, but that's about it."

This fact seemed to have dawned on _all _of the group as she said it, much to her amusement. Colette clapped her hands. "We should tell her!"

"Might as well," was Sheena's muttered agreement.

Taking seats around the table, the group of nine plus Engil, whom was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, began the discussion. "If anyone should begin, it should be one of the original four…." Regal began.

Raine murmured her agreement and started up on what had began as an ordinary day(Oh, how Aileena could relate to that.) in class, including and up to Lloyd's usual naps. It was then that Genis piped in on how the professor had left the class unattended and, thus, allowing Lloyd, him, and Colette to go to the temple.

There, they found the dying priest who warned them of the danger ahead. Colette began on how a strange group of Desians were there, threatening her grandmother for the Chosen's location.

"Your location, right?"

Colette nodded.

She returned to the tale where an older man appeared, slaying the Desian who had been about to kill Lloyd. To say she had been relieved would have been an understatement. The last surviving Desian abandoned the group and disappeared into the fields. It was then that they learned of the man's identity: Kratos Aurion, mercenary.

Aileena tipped her head to the side. "Where is he now, then, if he was part of the group?" A dark look passed over Lloyd's face.

Sheena shot the red-clad teen a concerned look. "Ah, we'll get to that, right? So, um…Go on Colette."

Engil, however, intervened. "Wait, Kratos went back to Cruxis?" Silence descended over the group like a cloak. The eldest half-elf frowned.

"Yes," Raine said, "He went back. Why?"

He frowned. "Mostly because I doubt Anna would have allowed him to do that." Aileena looked up.

"Who's that? Anna?"

"A young woman he had picked up in Sylvarant. He had come here to try and get away and I was one of the only ones he thought he could trust at all. Apparently, she had been a prisoner in one of their Desian Ranches…." Engil glanced from face to face with a raised eyebrow. "I can't believe he'd go back to Cruxis. He was far too smitten with that girl to allow her to be harmed again."

Genis crossed his arms. "Well, obviously he betrayed her like he did us and went back to Cruxis—"

"No. He wouldn't…" Engil frowned. "He couldn't."

"Yes he could—He did it to us—"

Engil snorted. "Well, he hadn't sworn a Summon Spirit oath on his life to stay with you always, now did he?" Aileena blinked, looking startled.

"Isn't that…really dangerous? I mean, if you do that, the only way you could get out of it is if the person you promised to stay with was killed…usually…" She trailed off, looking sick. Aileena had read about the summon spirit oaths in her magic book…If you swore one, you could either lose your life or your sanity if you didn't keep it. And the only way to truly get out of it is if the other person…

Lloyd frowned. "Usually, what? Murder?" The red-clad teen scowled at the thought.

Aileena shivered. "I wish. It's usually…Suicide."

The only noise was the faint audible gulp from the place Zelos was sitting.

Engil nodded. "Yes. And…If what I suspect is true, then what happened to her could count as suicide." Raine questioned what he meant.

"I know what it takes to create an exsphere. And Anna had one on her. So, the only thing I can think of is that when they went back to Sylvarant, a Desian must of gotten close enough to her to remove her exsphere." The half-elf shook his head. "If that happened…I don't think Kratos would have been around at that very moment. If he had…then that little boy might have survived and then Kratos most definitely wouldn't be with Cruxis."

Regal's head jerked up. "A little boy?" Engil shrugged.

"That's why they came here. Anna was pregnant with a kid and Kratos needed a safe place for the kid to be delivered. Just happened to be here."

"Girl or boy?" Presea asked, her eyes shining with curiosity.

Engil chuckled. "Boy. Told ya before, remember? I kinda wish I knew the kid's name, though. Left before they named him, Kratos did." Aileena shifted in her chair, a light frown tugging on her lips. _She _knew. The kid was sitting right in front of her, for Volt's sake!

Colette glanced at her. "What's wrong?"

"This interesting and all," Aileena said, making it up on the spot, "But I still don't understand why you need the summon spirits." _Nah, I do, so please just do an overview, or I'm gonna die from the boredom. Seriously, I'm not joking you guys._

* * *

They hadn't heard her mental warning.

She had been treated to a full scale account of their journey up till that point. The main problem she had, though, was that Presea was cured _before_ they got Volt. Which meant they never went to the mines…which means they don't know it's being used by Vharley and his gang. Great, no references to Regal killing his lover because she was an exsphere experiment who was also Presea's sister.

Yup, that wasn't confusing _at all. _But still…

That'd be bad. Aileena would have to explain how she knew that and she couldn't say that she read it in the court files because she had no reason to go there (The church was in charge of those files) nor could she say she saw his arrest: Aileena had already told Sheena she had never left Flanoir before.

She stepped passed the gates of Flanoir for the first time in three days. The citizens all glanced at her as she walked past them , as if surprised to still see her alive. The half-elf didn't know whether to be insulted by their lack of faith or not.

Jogging slightly up the stairs to the marketplace, Aileena changed her direction towards Jason's stall. The man was staring off into space with this rather despondent look on his face. It was almost as if…No, there was no way she was going to accept she was too late to help her friend!

The girl slammed her hands onto the stall's platform. "Jason!" The man jumped slightly and turned to her with wide eyes.

"Aileena?"

"Dumbass!" She screeched. "Why are you acting like someone died?!"

Jason coughed. "Everyone knows you went to the Temple of Ice…and then you were gone for three days…"

Aileena rolled her eyes. "Everyone _also _knows that it takes half a day to get there and then another half day to get back. Add to that any fighting you have to do _in_ the temple, and you spend about two days."

"What about the third?" He countered.

She smirked. "Easy. I was really tired and needed a day off. So I stayed at the cabin with Engil. Oh, and here's that Celsius' Tear you wanted. It's missing a petal, but that's okay, right?" Jason was gapping at her at this point. "What?"

"…How…?"

The teenager rolled her eyes and gave a detailed explanation as to what had happened and how she had gotten said flower…

To say her friend was shocked by the end (even after taking out the bits about the Symphonia group and the Summon Spirit) would be an understatement.

Jason shook his head. "You end up in the craziest situations, did you know that?" Aileena shrugged in response. A comfortable silence descended between the older man and the half-elf girl. Finally, she told the man she had to go back to the cabin as there was something she had to do. "I have to leave Flanoir today anyway." He chuckled. "So, don't worry about it. I'll see you next time, alright?"

She tried to smile at him and say yes, but she couldn't lie to the honest merchant. It would've been cruel.

Waving goodbye, she left the market place and stepped down the main staircase…only to find a squad of Papal Knights hanging about the gates. Aileena sucked in a breath. Had someone ratted her out or seen her with the group a few days ago?

It was when she saw Mina that she knew exactly what had happened.

"Wilder." Aileena growled as she approached the knights. The red head smirked but said not a word.

The knight beside her who seemed to be the squad's captain spoke instead, "You are Aileena Karson, correct?" She nodded once. "You are under arrest for three charges: Aiding the Traitor Zelos Wilder, Aiding the Sylvaranti Criminals, and being half-elven."

She scowled and knew that she wasn't getting away without a fight…So, a fight she shall give.

Aileena laughed aloud. "So, you wanna arrest me, huh? Well, let's see if you can catch me first…Holy Light! _Ray_!" The low powered spell arte was used, in this instance, to distract and not harm which was obvious the knights when they saw the girl had vanished after casting the spell.

* * *

"Those guys are really stupid. I mean, what kind of police force doesn't make sure their suspect isn't cuffed and bond before giving out the charges…?

"…Dumb ones, duh."

"(Wait. Why am I talking to myself out loud?)"

* * *

"Morons." She scoffed as she ran through the thick snow banks around the city. Really, they were rather incompetent. Everyone knew that you arrested first and then told the person their charges.

When she banged into the cabin, the Symphonia group all jumped. Aileena scowled at Zelos. "Your cousin is a witch with a capital B, ya know that?" He frowned but before he could ask why, she said, "Mina Wilder saw us together a couple of days ago, when we were in Flanoir, and told the knights. I almost got arrested back at the gates…and it'll be only a matter of time before they show up here."

Engil swore from the back of the room before disappearing into the bedroom. Lloyd stepped forward. "So…We need to know your answer. Are you coming with us?"

Aileena threw her hands into the air. "Fine! I'll come! But I still don't get how we're going to get out of Flanoir without the Papal Knights catching us!"

"Simple." Raine crossed her arms. "We'll use the rheairds." Muttering that she wasn't going to question it, Aileena moved over to the bedroom to pack her things…Only to run into Engil, whom was clutching a familiar bag in his hands.

"Here, I got it all pack for ya."

"Um, thanks?" Aileena muttered. "But, still…I don't want to leave you to fight alone."

The man smirked. "No one said anything` bout fighting, kid. I've got my own way out—You go with those other kids, got it? And stay safe, won't cha?" The half-elf girl only nodded and turned to the others as she slipped the bag on.

"Ready then?" Sheena asked with a sad smile.

"Yes." Aileena gave the ninja a determined look. She cast the old half-elf that she had lived with for what felt like so long but was actually only a few months one final look before descending out into the cold and ice.

* * *

Chapter 6

END

* * *

"Aileena, ya brat, ya better stay alive…

"…Or else I may never forgive myself."

* * *

**Aileena** is level 21!

Learned Arte 'Cursed Dance!'

Learned Spell Arte 'Bloody Howling!'

Earned Title 'Any Length'

-I will go to any lengths for those I care for!

Unlocked Skit 'Talking to Myself.'


End file.
